New MEGAFAUN Mini-Album on the way

After such an exciting year (including the release of their acclaimed Gather, Form and Fly album, several tours in the US, two very successful first forays into Europe, and a participation in psych-soul supergroup Gayngs), Megafaun have come good again with a new mini-album! Entitled "Heretofore", this beautiful six-track offering will be released in September (by Crammed in Europe and Hometapes in the US).

"Heretofore" serves as an appetiser for the next full album by the North Carolina trio, which will be recorded later this year... not that this mini-album should be taken in any way lightly - in an interview with Independent Weekly, Megafaun described the material as "the best hooks and lyrics that we've done ... but it also has the most far-reaching stuff we've ever put on a record".

A single from "Heretofore" will be released in advance of the band's summer festival tour, details of which you'll find here. Watch this space for more info soon!

Gather foam and Fly

The photo says it all !
In dramatic news that has sent tremors through the world of follically-enhanced American guitar music, Phil Cook from Megafaun has shaven his beard off.

In a band statement Megafaun have issued a rallying cry to fans, sales reps and PRs across the world left bemused and shaken by the band's unprecedented stylistic shift: "We can no longer be defined as "beard-folk", the statement reads. "From here on out, we will go by "folk-rock".

Pictoral evidence has emerged, which you can study for yourself above. However we call upon eye witnesses to confirm this by attending one of Megafaun's forthcoming summer shows in Europe (by which time, of course, he may have grown it back again)

Staff Benda Bilili triumph at the Cannes Film Festival !

The full-length film about the band is set to become a worldwide sensation
"Benda Bilili", the film about the story of Staff Benda Bilili, was welcomed with a standing ovation on the opening night of the Cannes Film Festival. The internet is buzing with tweets and posts...

"An extraordinary film ... it will do what Ry Cooder & Wim Wenders did for theBuena Vista Club and make them (Staff Benda Bilili) world famous...", says BBC Radio

Staff Benda Bilili appeared live from Cannes on major French TV talk show Le Grand Journal (Canal+), and glowing reviews have started appearing all over (see for example the full page in Libération)

Devoted to the band's extraordinary story, this is the film on which French directors Renaud Barret and Florent de la Tullaye (aka Belle Kinoise) have been working on for the past 5 years, ever since they encountered the band in Kinshasa.

The film shows the band's journey from the sidewalks of Kinshasa to the stages of large European concert halls and festivals, and features performances of many songs from Staff's popular "Très Très Fort" album, which came out last year on Crammed (and has just won Staff Benda Bilili the Songlines Award for "Best Group of 2010").

Staff Benda Bilili attended the premiere (on the opening night of the prestigious Quinzaine des Réalisateurs (Directors' Fortnight) at Cannes), and performed a show at the Quinzaine party after the screening. The band will be staying in Cannes for several days, and worldwide media are already conducting dozens of interviews with them.

Konono invited by CocoRosie for Paris show

May 22 at Casino de ParisKonono No 1 have been invited by CocoRosie to take part in their show at Casino de Paris on May 22!

The wildest and most talked about Congolese band are now on the last leg of their European tour, after ecstatically-received appearances in Brussels, London, Manchester, Bristol, Cologne and at Matt Groening's ATP,

Do not miss them in Amsterdam (16/5), Pau (18/5), St Nazaire (20/5), Art Rock Festival in St Brieuc (where the show will be filmed by Les Inrockuptibles for ARTE Live Web, 21/5), Paris (with CocoRosie on 22/5, and on the next day at the Barbes l'Africaine festival), Cadiz (27/5) and Madrid (29/5).

US/Canada tour to follow, July 9 to 23

Konono's smashing new album "Assume Crash Position" is now out everywhere (except in the US, where it'll come out on June 8).

Shantel's irresistible party machine @ Bataclan, Paris, 21 May

Shantel's "Authentic" EP, Tour and Video

The irresistible party machine is back in full force!

After a mad year (with a highly successful album and dozens of delirious shows) and a short rest, the irresistible party machine known as Shantel is back in full force: the digital-only Authentic EPincludes remixes by Yamaha Electrico and by the highly-rated Schlachthof Bronx, as well as two new versions recorded by Shantel in collaboration with Turkish artist Nil and Serbian underground sound system Dream Team.

The Authentic Tour will take Shantel and his band through over 40 cities between May and August, including appearances at major festivals such as Roskilde (DK), Couleur Café (B), Montreux Jazz (CH), Francofolies (F), and a headlining show at the Bataclan in Paris on May 21. Watch the Authentic Video to get an impression of what it's like to attend a Shantel show...

Absolutely inauthentic, my sound is egocentric, this sounds to you eclectic, 'cause you stay on the ground!

Balkan Beat Box Euro Tour, animation video and remixes

Kicking off in Paris (13/4), London (14/4), Lille (15/4), Brussels (16/4); and moving on to Caen, Hamburg, Berlin, Amsterdam, Munich. Cologne, Nancy, Bertignolles and Vienna. See more details in the "live" section of the site.

Come join the party!

The animation video for "War Again", the first single off the album,was directed by Paul Griswold, and is being aired on various TV channels including MTV Germany.

Several remixes are filtering through, by the likes RJD2, Radioclit, Brazilian Girls and more to be announced

Limited vinyl editions of the Cibelle & Lonely Drifter Karen albums

Pre-order now and get a free download of the entire album Pre-order the limited-edition VINYL version of "Fall of Spring" by Lonely Drifter Karen, and immediately get a free download of the entire album (including the digital-only bonus track "Seasonal Things" feat. Dana Janssen from Akron/Family) !

Konono track premiered on Rolling Stone, Wire cover story

"Wumbanzanga", a first (12-minute) track off Konono N°1's new album Assume Crash Position, was premiered this week on RollingStone.com.

Meanwhile, to illustrate their excellent, 8-page cover story on Konono No.1 and Kasai Allstars, Wire magazine have posted an exclusive live video of Konono performing live at the Saint Nazaire festival in France. This is an excerpt of a 52 minute film on Konono shot and directed by French filmmaker Jacques Goldstein during that festival.

Megafaun in Europe... The Sequel!

Megafaun return to European shores in triumph this March!

If you didn't see them last time round (their debut EU tour was late last year), you missed a banjo-wielding, noise-embracing, good-times-bringing jamboree that often saw the band ending up in the middle of the crowd ... here's your chance to join the fun!

To celebrate, they are releasing a new digital single of "Kaufman's Ballad" (as taken from the band's masterful Gather, Form & Fly" album), backed with "Wreck On The Highway", a cover of a dark song with a troubled story: credited for years to country music pioneer Roy Acuff (who recorded it in 1942), it was actually written by an obscure millworker and musician named Dorsey Dixon, who had to struggle for years to gain back his rights.